It’s About Health
St. John’s Lutheran Church, Arroyo Grande, California

“The Lord calls us out of our ‘islands’ to become his body.” These words of Pastor Randy Ouimette are being put into action through a partnership of his congregation, St. John’s Lutheran Church in Arroyo Grande, California, and the conference of nine ELCA congregations in their area. From this partnership a shared vision of a new mission was planned, supplied with competent leadership, and continues to be nurtured with time and dollars.

It was not only congregations that the Lord called out of their “islands,” but also individuals, like Patricia Muran. After years of being away from the church, she became a member of St. John’s in the early 1990s. The former social worker and bank loan officer grew up in Texas and spoke both Spanish and English. At St. John’s she became an active volunteer and eventually church council president. “I was thirsty for even more involvement,” she recalls. Through prayer, conversation, and the study of scripture her spirituality grew. As she looks back, she believes that, “God was preparing me for a call,” a call out of her individual “island” into the ordained ministry. She decided to attend Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary by way of the Theological Education for Emerging Ministries (TEEM) Program. Through TEEM she could complete the four-year program while living at home with her family and immediately applying what she was learning in her community.

Meanwhile, the congregations of the Central Coast Conference of the Southwest California Synod were also hearing God’s call. Accordingly, they supported the idea of a new mission in Santa Maria, a city in the middle of a rich agricultural area and home to thousands of farm workers from Mexico. In 1999 Pastor Ouimette spoke to his conference and recommended Patricia Muran to spearhead the establishment of the new mission for Latinos in Santa Maria. A year later the conference assembly approved the proposal. Most of the nine congregations each made a five-year annual financial commitment of $25,000 to the new mission, a sum that was matched with churchwide funds and contributions from the synod. With Bethel Lutheran Church in Santa Maria sharing its facilities, in 2001 Pat was ordained and installed as mission developer to what would become Iglesia Luterana Santa Cruz (ILSC).

Pastor Muran began her ministry by meeting members of the Latino community, knocking on doors, sending out mailings, and participating in public events. Although she originally envisioned a ministry to Spanish-speaking immigrants, most of her congregation now consists of hardworking, but very poor, Oaxacans, native Mexicans who speak over twenty Mixteco language dialects. Her congregation grows primarily from interaction between the community and ILSC members, who are mostly parents under 25-years-old, eager to hear the Gospel and to participate in the life of the congregation.

Pastor Carl Nielsen credits ILSC with the revitalization and blessings Bethel Lutheran Church has found through its role as host. Oaxacan young people attend confirmation classes with Bethel young people while other Bethel members help out by providing Sunday School during the ILSC service, assisting as worship and music leaders, and donating practical items to Oaxacan members. Students from nearby Cal Poly campus ministry also pitch in. In each of the last three years, the congregation has held six Friday Parents’ Night Out programs, where thirty adults, assisted by confirmands, provide a free dinner and a Vacation Bible School-like experience for an average of fifty children from the community. English-as-a-Second-Language classes, through the county literacy program, are also offered at Bethel, and members throughout the Central Coast Conference contribute clothes, furniture, school supplies, and other items to help their Oaxacan brothers and sisters get established in their new homes.

God’s work among the Oaxacans in Santa Maria is progressing. Synodical and churchwide support also continues. ILSC augments its offerings with fundraising activities as Pastor Muran works to develop leaders from within her Oaxacan congregation. In a wonderful affirmation of the mission’s present and future work, the Central Coast Conference, along with the ELCA, has made another five-year commitment. More “islands” will be brought into the body of Christ.